Category: ABlog

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see: or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.Alice Walker

Autumn. A most favorite season when the colors are vivid, the fruit is sweet, the air is crisp. Included below is an excerpt by my favorite poet, Rilke. Like a fine wine paired with a delicious meal, his words compliment the seasons of life.

Lord, it is time. Let the great summer go,
Lay your long shadows on the sundials,
And over harvest piles let the winds blow.

Command the last fruits to be ripe;
Grant them some other southern hour,
Urge them to completion, and with power
Drive final sweetness to the heavy grape.

Who’s homeless now, will for long stay alone.
No home will build his weary hands,
He’ll wake, read, write letters long to friends
And will the alleys up and down
Walk restlessly, when falling leaves dance.

re·sil·ience // rəˈzilyəns/ noun

1. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.

This summer I created a piece of wearable art for Local 20/20 whose mission is “Working together toward local sustainability and resilience – integrating ecology, economy and community through action and education.” L2020 partnered with the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management and Thunderbull Productions to host the The All County Picnic. To emphasize the important work, the bandana spelled out “RESILIENCE” when folded and contained an illustration of downtown Port Townsend, the western county/Pacific coast, local harvest, and local radio. I decided to break the design into 4 quadrants.* Each quadrant had a snippet of important information that is crucial to know during a natural disaster. It was a really fun project that helped fund the community event and also got everyone thinking (and planning) for an emergency. While it’s not the hottest topic, it is an important one. Especially for us who live on the remote Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, along the ever-shifting Juan de Fuca Subduction Zone. I’m happy to report we completely SOLD OUT! I love making art that benefits everyone… It really doesn’t get much better than that.

*FOOD store 21 days worth of nonperishable dry food. Consume food in refrigerator first, then freezer, then pantry. NEIGHBORHOOD know your neighbors, skills, resources. Have a plan. Shelter in place or evacuate if located in a tsunami inundation zone. Establish a meeting place if separated. WATER Have 1 gallon of water per person for 21 days. Purification: bring to rolling boil for 1 minute or add 16 drops of unscented chlorine bleach per 1 gallon of water, let sit for 30 minutes. COMMUNICATION Who is your local HAM operator? Do you use NIXEL Emergency Network? Have walkie talkie radios in home or vehicle. Tune to KTPZ 91.9 FM or KROH 91.1 FM for updates. Visit www.jeffcoeoc.org and www.l2020.org for more information.

A creative community is a treasure indeed. It’s time to fire up some more great art classes for the 2016 Marston Arts Program at Jefferson Community School. If you are in Port Townsend area, stop on by! Last month, we kicked off the New Year with Mandala art. I am always so blown away by the talent and depth of participants. This month we have some different things on the agenda for three of the five Monday’s in February.

PAPER POTTERY: We will be up-cycling old magazine and newspaper to create formed pottery. Come learn this unique skill and turn rubbish into art. Materials provided. Course runs from 3-5PM on Monday, February 1st, 2016. By donation. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

VALENTINE’S WORKSHOP: ‘Tis the season for love. In this course we will be creating… you guessed it… Valentine’s! Come join me for a fun class where we use mixed media items, as well as found objects not commonly thought of for crafting, to create unique and memorable greeting cards. Materials provided. Course runs from 3-5PM on Monday, February 8th, 2016. By donation. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

NO CLASS: Monday, February 15th and 22nd, 2016 I will be taking a much anticipated holiday. Though I will not be holding class for two weeks, rest assure, I will be sending sunny vibes!

MINIMAL MASTERPIECES: In this course we explore composition and placement. Is less really more? How does a frame tie a work of art together? We will be creating small works of art from a variety of materials. Come express your own unique style and leave with a tiny masterpiece and framed work of art. Materials provided. Course runs from 3-5PM on Monday, February 29th, 2016. By donation. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

COME JOIN THE FUN! GET CREATIVE!

“CREATIVITY is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a literary work or a painting).”

“I hope that in the year to come, you make mistakes. Glorious, amazing mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.

Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry what others say, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work, or family, or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, do it.” -Neil Gaiman

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but it is the parent of all the other virtues. –Cicero

This Thanksgiving we started a new tradition that I wanted to share. We call it our gratitude tree.

We enjoyed the activity so much, we all decided it’s a new tradition.

Each person wrote down on five paper leaves (pattern here) what they are most grateful for from the year. We then shared our decorated leaves and added them to the tree. In my home we have a gorgeous fig tree we “adopted” that lives in our family room. If you have a Christmas tree, they work as great ornaments, too.

It’s that simple.

The activity is a fun way to acknowledge what the season is really about and is a great reminder all year to give thanks.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” (William Arthur Ward)

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

A permanent display of work is located at The CoLab, 237 Taylor Street, in the heart of beautiful, picturesque, historic downtown Port Townsend, Washington. The space is open to the public, Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm, and the collection "Beneath Waves" covers two different styles of art from a five year span of time.
www.ptcolab.com